Climate change
Every few months, it seems, a new report emerges painting an even bleaker picture of human-induced climate change and it potential to disrupt familiar weather patterns and alter the balance of life on the planet. The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,a group of hundreds of scientists established by the United Nations to analyze global warming, indicates that the planet's atmosphere is warming even faster than previously anticipated.
The Panel suggests that rapid warming could precipitate brutal droughts, floods and violent storms across the planet over the next century. Melting polar ice caps could raise sea levels anywhere between three inches and three feet, displacing tens of millions of people in low-lying areas. As wind and ocean currents shift, ecosystems will shift dramatically. Many plant and animal species—especially those in isolated islands and mountain systems—will be unable to adapt, and will go extinct. At the human level, much of the costs of this problem generated by the industrial world will be borne by less affluent nations—those who had little if anything to do with the problem.
Drought in West Africa
The first of our two climate change videos shows how global warming already strains the lives of people in three West African countries. Meet Michel Ognin, a school teacher in Benin, who struggles to keep his family afloat amid rising temperatures and dwindling water supplies. Meanwhile, Dogon farmers in Mali watch their crops wither, and Nigerian Tuareg herdsmen adjust to a strange, settled existence increasingly dependent on food aid as the nomadic lifestyle that sustained them for generations gives way to drought and famine.
Troubled Rainforests
The second video examines the complex relationship between climate change and the world’s rainforests. A vicious cycle is emerging in which destruction of the rainforests accelerates climate change, and climate change in turn diminishes the vitality of the forests. Doctors Debra and David Clark have spent two decades researching tree growth at the La Selva Bio Institute in Costa Rica. In this video, they discuss the dire implications for rainforest health in a warmer world.
Another way
Through profligate energy use, the United States is the leading contributor to global climate change. Americans have the ability to cut energy consumption today. By choosing public transportation, driving more fuel efficient cars, conserving energy in the home, and supporting a shift toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels, we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and the burden we inflict on less affluent nations and the world’s rainforests. Pretending we have plenty of time to act, however, will make matters worse. Making smart choices about everyday actions, while holding policymakers accountable for shifting our economy away from fossil fuels dependence will make a difference.
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